We recently connected with Candace Gunter and have shared our conversation below.

Candace, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My biggest hero was my grandmother, Ceceline V. Hamilton. I truly believe society runs on the backs of the unsung, unknown heroes who make our society better. She was instrumental in my development as a woman, mother, wife, and person. She gave the last of what she had to those in need, and was an entrepreneur in her own right. At the time I didn’t realize she gave me this spirit to sort of make my own way in life. When I grew up, I noticed I was different from the other children around me. My grandmother also saw this and didn’t always understand me, but she embraced me regardless. She made an effort to connect with me despite my being different. This lesson helped shape me into a more opened minded adult.

I remember every summer I went to stay with my grandmother in Baltimore, she had this big garden in the middle of Baltimore city. She was a strong believer in natural resources helping the body. Growing up my grandmother always turned to nature to heal various issues she had or us children had. That inspired me to help others do the same by relying on natural resources to help and improve their hair, skin, and nails. She would take her produce to the end of her driveway and sell it to make extra side money. I would watch as locals would stop and talk to her, purchase her produce, and see her connect with her local community. At the time we hated standing at that table at the end of her driveway, but it instilled values. It taught us that we could make a way with whatever we had and connecting with your local community is essential. My grandmother came here from the United Kingdom (by way of Jamaica) and took on the role of a foster mother for many children for 40 years in New York and in Maryland. The way she treated those children like they were hers was inspiring. I always admired my grandmother’s determination to make a difference in the lives of those she came in contact with. Her love of God, service to others, and huge heart helped shape me into who I am today.

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 background and context?

I am the wife of an active duty Marine. We have been to 5 duty stations together in 5 states. That made it extremely difficult for me to work outside of the home consistently, along with moving from place to place, and having small children. We eventually made the decision that it would be easier for me to stay home with the children after trying to get hired with no luck. Another big issue was paying for childcare; most of my earnings went just to childcare and it didn’t make sens for me to work. At our third duty station, I would make my children body butters and my mother told me one day, “you should sell this.” I didn’t think at the time it was something to pursue. Like who would buy my products?

Years later, my husband and I took custody of my cousin with Down syndrome when she was 8. Her skin and hair were extremely damaged, and I tried various products to help her, even medicated products. Nothing helped until I started making my own natural products for her and helped her skin clear up her eczema rashes, softened her rough skin, and her damaged hair repaired and started growing with the use of my natural conditioners. That was the official birth of my company during Covid.

I began selling body butters, body scrubs, beard products, and hair products in Albany, Ga. I started getting lots of orders after people tried my products and liked how they helped their hair, skin, and beards get and stay healthy. Hearing how my products were helping my customers motivated me to grow my company to help more people outide of my local area.

The thing I’m most proud of is overcoming my fears and starting my business. It took me almost 2 years to build up the courage to even file for my LLC. I was afraid because I wasn’t familiar with the legal process of business. I took that time to research how to get legal and ingredients from around the world that were helping people with issues like dandruff, dry skin, rough skin, etc. I tested my products on my family and started even though I was terrified I would mess up. I am always looking to improve myself and my skills, so I take courses to help advance my company and I hired a business coach.

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

I had to unlearn many things. Th first thing was it’s ok to spend money to make money. I was terrified of losing money if the business didn’t work out. I had to come to the realization that everything in life involves taking risks. Whether big or small, risk taking is an important part of life and it helps us become more resilient. Next, I had to unlearn that I should be doing everything for my business myself. If you can source some things out, do it! If your in a place financially to hire a team, do it! Taking things off of your plate helps you spend more time on the important aspects of your business. I am a strong person, so asking for help wasn’t my strong suit. I’ve always been the make-it work type of girl. I would rather figure out my own solution instead of asking for help. I had to see how outside help benefited my company by easing my process. Things like labels, professional photography, were areas that eased my process and took my company to a whole other level.

I also got myself a business coach (Jasmine Morales- Levels on Demand) who has helped me advance my company and taught me the legal aspects of business I was unaware of. I was terrified to spend money on something I wasn’t sure was going to work. I realized the program would only work if I put in the work and took as much knowledge from it as possible. I still work with her program; it was the best decision I made for my company. I am always learning and expanding my knowledge for the sake of providing the best products & services for my customers. It’s ok to seek help from professionals when you are unsure and stuck in business. It can become an overwhelming task if you go into it unprepared. Your thought may be to quit, it’s not working out. Don’t give into that feeling. There are professionals who specialize in helping small business owners succeed, so seek them out!

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Since I manufacture my products myself, it took trial, error, and time. I listen to my customers and adjust based on their suggestions. Customers come to me and ask me for certain products, and that’s the beginning of my research into that product. I have to see how I could offer that product in its most natural form that’s still appealing to my customer base as well as if it’s something the market wants. I was always a very DIY type of person, so taking nothing and turning it into something was always appealing to me. I would discover ingredients that had tremendous properties for the hair or skin. In this climate, customers are interested in the most natural way to help their bodies. They are looking for ingredients they can trust versus the chemicals being sold as body products. There was one time I realized sweet potato has amazing benefits did your hair. Made a conditioner and launched this product. No one wanted to buy it. They didn’t care that it could strengthen and grow their hair. It was a learning experience for me where I had to learn that market trends are in place to help you meet the needs of your customers, which in turn makes you more sales. Sometimes the market isn’t ready for something that far out there. You are always pivoting and adjusting in business. I enrolled in a formulation course (Formula Botanica) to help improve my products, discover new ingredients, and make sure my company practices are legally in line with cosmetic guidelines.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aaribody.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/aaribody
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/aaribody
• Youtube: www.YouTube.com/aaribody
• Other: Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@aaribody?_t=8XRk2JUXhhS&_r=1

Image Credits
Kris Hacker- Hacker Medias