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

Hi Brianna, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

As a beauty lover, it is no secret that the beauty industry is extremely fast-paced. And though they try to be accommodating to the “try for 30 days” concept, the industry still follows a fast-paced model. You are encouraged to shop for the next best things or use more than you need. Some companies are trying to balance capitalism with slow living but the two just don’t seem to mix well. Which got me thinking: “What if there was a beauty magazine focused on slow living? Like slow beauty.”

I love all things beauty so much. I enjoy wellness, makeup, hair, fashion all of it. But a lot of those things can be detrimental to the environment and our wallets. I wanted a space on the internet that reminded us mindful consumption was and is an option despite how many different moisturizers are released every season. Shiblaqbri didn’t start this way though. The magazine has evolved since I first started blogging in 2014. At first, it was just a regular natural hair blog where I documented my journey while transitioning from straight to curly hair.

Now it is a digital magazine that publishes articles once a week and those articles can cover a variety of categories we publish on the website. There is of course beauty, but also pop culture and lifestyle articles as well. When I began to examine my own spending habits, I discovered that the majority of my money was going to products that I never had enough time to use. That’s when the idea for this magazine came to me. Shiblaqbri is a small fish in a big ocean of big names, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Slow beauty and slow living are all about living sustainably. And, honestly, how sustainable is a ten-step skincare routine consisting of products you won’t finish before they expire?

Being a hair or skincare junkie is out! We shop mindfully over here.

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?

Shiblaqbri (she-blaque-bree) is a digital media magazine dedicated to providing beauty and pop culture topics from the lens of slow living. Slow living is a lifestyle where people decide to live a more balanced, meaningful life by slowing things down and appreciating both the world around them and what they have. Our mission is to empower individuals and communities to lead sustainable, informed lifestyles through inspiring content and cultivating community and wellness.

Before I started blogging in 2014, I wrote short stories and poems. I still do those things just not as often. I majored in Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 2019. I have always had a creative spirit. I think I get it from my mom, she used to want to be a journalist before she became a nurse. I would say I am most proud of where I am today with Shiblaqbri. I had no idea I would gain the traction I have so far when I decided to convert my hair blog into a slow beauty and pop culture magazine.

I would love for all of our readers, potential partners and clients to know that I don’t just write about slow living, I live it. I run a magazine that publishes once a week. Most digital publications are posting daily. I don’t believe that I need to run that race. I live a slow life and plan to keep it that way. A lot of business consultants who follow a typical model would say that is unwise. But it is what works for me and it works for my readers. Our readers are busy just like I am. They don’t have time to read articles everyday anymore than I have time to write them.

That’s another thing about my business, I write majority of the articles myself. I have hired freelance writers to chug out some articles here and there, but I don’t have the funding to pay writers to constantly contribute like I would want to so for now it’s just me 9 times out of 10. Shiblaqbri is independently owned and reader funded. So anyone who comes to our website will see a pop out asking for donations. Donations are always welcome.

There is a plan to gain some more funding so that I can pay contributors regularly. But to raise money you almost always need money so I have stuck to crowdfunding for now. The lack of donations doesn’t deter me from it though. I am very proud of where Shiblaqbri is right now, and I know that slow and steady wins the race.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I recently had to pivot in both my career and life. My mom was attacked and set on fire on May 11th this year and it has been hard to keep up with my business, career, and life while navigating that. She recently passed away from her injuries, so I have gone back to taking a pause from things. This is where the slow living concept comes in handy. I am very lucky to have such a great support system from not only my family and friends but from my job as well (which is completely different than what I do for Shiblaqbri).

You can’t really plan for something like that. Never in a million years would I have thought that would happen to my mom. But our family is taking it day by day and I have decided to incorporate that mentality into everything else. Right now, I am taking tasks at Shiblaqbri day by day. And I think it’s important for me to mention that because a lot of times business owners think they can’t pause. And maybe they don’t always have the privilege to do so if they are depending on revenue. But I think it’s important to plan for a pause financially so that you can do so.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source to gain new clients, whom I refer to as readers, is pinterest. Pinterest is such an underultized gem. I am obsessed with the platform myself, but when I realized most of my articles are things I have searched for on Pinterest before my views skyrocketed. They aren’t where I would like them to be all the time, but sometimes I get a good hit. Pinterest is the secret weapon if you have a business that provides beauty recommendations, offers sustainable solutions, and how-to’s.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shiblaqbri.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shiblaqbri
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shiblaqbri
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/shiblaqbri
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/shiblaqbri
• Other: Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/shiblaqbri For business inquiries or to get in touch with us: [email protected]