We recently connected with Chelsea Adinuba and have shared our conversation below.
Chelsea, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The more we talk about good leadership the more we think good leadership practices will spread and so we’d love for you to tell us a story about the best boss you’ve had and what they were like or what they did that was so great?
The best boss I’ve ever had was myself. This isn’t the typical answer you would expect when someone asks you a question such as this one. I am here to encourage you all: nobody knows you better than you know yourself. You know when it is time to apply pressure, and when it is time to take a break. You know your needs, your wants, and your schedule better than anyone else does. When I was 16 years old, I wrote my first book titled “How To Be a Young Boss.” It is important that we know that we are powerful beyond measure, and we can make a change in the world. I created my businesses ChelsDesigns and TheLuxcess by myself. I believe that I am such a great leader for myself because I know the vision that I have for myself, the problems that I want to solve, and the people that will help me be able to solve those problems as effectively as possible. “Nobody knows the book better than the author” (Chelsea Adinuba). I saw the vision I had (the clothes that I wanted to create, photoshoots that I wanted to happen, places I wanted to speak) and I made it happen through hard work and a whole lot of prayer.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Chelsea Adinuba. I started sewing during my sophomore year of high school, to make a Christmas gift for one of my friends. I always had the desire to sew, and my sister had a sewing machine laying in the guest room of our house collecting dust. I decided to teach myself how to sew. I. started off making durags, and that didn’t work out. I switched to reversible bonnets, because I am from a predominately black community called Prince George’s County Maryland. I started selling reversible bonnets, and it went up. I seen that there was a need for bonnets that could fit our protective styles and take care of our hair, they weren’t available in the beauty supply stores…so I decided to make it myself. What sets me apart from others is that I see the problem, and I solve it immediately, no time wasted. I also hand make everything so it’s real, it’s customized, its personal. I branched off into solving more problems: I started making silk pillow cases, face masks for when the pandemic hit, dresses, any and everything…then ultimately I came out with a book. I wrote my first book at the age of 16 years old titled “How To Be a Young Boss” to encourage other people seeking to start businesses and/or become the best that they could possibly be. Months later, I came out with my 2nd book titled “Heart over Hustle.” I am most proud of my consistency, not many people can say they wrote two books before graduating high school, and I am so proud of that. Being able to inspire people and constantly wake up and go get it, it’s fulfilling to me.
Have you ever had to pivot?
God blessed me with many talents. I can’t deny that, I can’t go against that…I loved to sew clothes, and I became a wig maker as well. I tried to combine both businesses but it became overwhelming. I began to feel very confused trying to market both into the same business, and I knew that a separation had to happen. It was hard because I’ve spent so much time building ChelsDesigns up, but I was led to start a 2nd business: Theluxcess. I am very glad that I did. It took a lot of faith, preparation, and waiting on God, but He pulled through for me. Once I launched the business, I believe more people were able to see “wow, this girl does both.” Trying to combine it all into one made it difficult for people to see the beauty in everything I did: clothes, writing, hair, etc. There was now a distinction in every field: clothes, writing, hair, podcast, and other activities that I participated in. Another change was when I came out with my first book. This was an interesting pivot because not many people knew how great of a writer I was. Being able to combine my love for writing to the love I had for my business made it easy. I also started my podcast titled “Grow With Me” that same month. It was great for people to see another part of me, the part that truly makes me who I am: writing and speaking.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
One of my favorite marketing stories has to be when I came out with my college set photoshoot. Everything happened so spontaneously. I started planning it out a month in advance: I knew the models I wanted to use, the photographer, the setting, everything was coming together efficiently. I am very big on planning and efficiency. I believe that business is supposed to be efficient, and we are always supposed to seek how we can make things as simple as possible for the team and the customers as well. Marketing is about understanding what your target audience wants, and giving it to them in a way nobody ever has. So I decided to do just that. I had a vision, I got the team together, I brought it to life, and my photoshoot did numbers. It was a great turnout that I was extremely satisfied with. Most importantly, all the members of my team, including myself, had a great time. I believe that when you do what you love, you’ll never really work at all. I stand by that, and I want to make sure I’m providing quality support and quality ideas/movement for those I work with and the customers that are shopping with me. This is extremely important, great customer service attracts customers back to you, and also leaves your brand with a great reputation.
Contact Info:
- Website: designsbychels.com
- Instagram: @chelsdesignss + @theluxcess + @___iamchelsea
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-adinuba-0aa89321b/
- Twitter: @CHELSDESIGNS
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkYeWtFMFsnHtikCqvDZ0A
- Other: Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grow-with-me/id1537416650
Image Credits
@Taiwodawotola