We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deshawn Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Deshawn, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I definitely wish I would’ve started my business sooner. I started my business in June of 2020, during the pandemic and that literally showed me that there’s no perfect time than now. Prior to launching I spent almost 2 years trying to create a “perfect” business & today use little to none of those things or strategies. At the time of launching my business I was working for a company that got government contracts & I had just got back on my feet financially from going through a cycle of finding a job, then losing it. I was honestly in a weird head space at the time, I was depressed but still trying to be thankful, while trying to optimistic because I knew I wanted to launch a business… The thing is I just knew there was a perfect time to do everything for my business & was pretty much in my own head about it. I almost pushed my launch date back again prior to launching because I thought it would be silly to start a business when COVID-19 was at it’s peak. However I still did it because at this point I’d invested so much money into my brand and of course wasn’t making any money since I wasn’t doing anything. After launching, ideas came to me and I made changes as necessary. Pretty much what I learned is you don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great!

Deshawn, 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?

Hi my name is Deshawn Smith, I’m from Miami, FL. I’m an entrepreneur & small business owner. I’m the owner of Hazel Rayne an e-commerce business catered to women for discreet self defense items. I started my business back in June of 2020, we recently rebranded and our motto is now “Keeping the gworls pretty & protected”! In addition to that I’m also apart of a multi level marketing nutrition company and I help people achieve their fitness goals & tap into the best version of themselves not only physically but mentally. I started my fitness journey in 2017 & made myself vulnerable sharing my journey with the world on social media through Instagram, which I’m so glad I did! It helped me to show up and it also inspired others to want to start their journey which helped me to realize I enjoy helping people and that this was something bigger than me. With me sharing my everyday life through social media I also recently got into content creating and working with brands as a micro influencer/ brand ambassador promoting products and service I find interest in.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience by being myself! Your vibe attracts your tribe! The main thing is consistency and to remember who you are. One of the things that I love is that I have created structure and boundaries, this is important for social media and your private life. I share what I’m comfortable with sharing and I also have created a positive environment on my platform. Another thing is add value! What would you like to see on social media that you don’t currently see often? For me it was positivity, with so many blogs sharing negativity I wanted to be the one to share positive things on my platform. So when you’re sharing what matters to you and adding value, people will naturally want to keep up with you because what you’re doing is different from what everyone else is doing.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I initially started my business I funded everything out of pocket. I would work & then separate my bills and made the huge sacrifice to stop going out and partying and invest in myself and in my business. I didn’t have much money to start with but I started with what I could & every dollar counted towards something!

Contact Info:

• Website: Hazelrayne.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/BadLikeRawr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deshaasuxx
• Youtube: YouTube.com/deshaasuxx