Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erika Lawrence. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Erika, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
At the beginning I was thinking on a different name , but I had a friend mentioned that she didn’t think it has to do with what I wanted to sell , I thought about it a little bit more and then I was talking to another friend about how much I love pearls and he mentioned that I was like a black Pearl and I thought , Black Pearl Yoga Wear , yes , that’s is, because the Athleisure that I sell is beautiful , timeless, and classy just like a pearl. I wanted something for women that can’t wear only sport bras or that want to be modest and cover up, but at the same time something they could wear from the yoga/pilates mat to runnings errands, having coffee/lunch with friends, traveling etc, and still look chic and classy.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I had been in the fitness industry for over 32 years ; 17 of those years had been instructing yoga. I started with aerobics but as I got older I wanted to do less jumping around , I wanted something would that would keep me looking long and lean without the bouncing around, so that’s why I started doing yoga/pilates, And I opened Yoga & Pilates in your home.
Last year I started to think about expanding my yoga brand with some kind of athleisure, at first I thought about a sport bra and leggings, but I decided against that because they are very big brands already that sell that type of product , and I wanted something for women that cannot show their stomachs, that like 100% cotton, and wanted great quality.
Over the read most of my clients had been older women and I had been listening to what they want and how they dress when they do yoga, I still have many women come to me and say “ I staying away from the polyester plastic I just want cotton, I want to be comfortable “ that’s the demographic I’m trying to get as my clients.
So I started looking into manufacturers, first I thought China but quickly decided against it, a client of mine from Colombia , mentioned to me that they have great textiles there , so I did some research , and contacted three manufacturers and travel there last year to meet with them and I picked one that required less MOQ, because wanted to start small, and I happy I did , they do a very good quality work.
I told them I want excellent quality and the best cotton, so they import the Pima cotton from Peru, which now has me thinking that eventually I want to manufacture my product in Peru, I have a friend that lived there for years and will get me some contacts, I know over there they are small factories that women work in and I want to support women owned small businesses, I had received a lot of mentorship, input , feedback from women, there’s one in particular that had been pushing me and cheering me along the way… and I think that’s the way it should be , women should support women not be envious of each other, I really think we can all win , and I’m looking forward to make Black Pearl a woman brand , not only for or made or thought by women but expands in other areas too. More too come….
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I used a little bit if my savings , since I didn’t kneed a large capital to start.
I am member with the Florida Women Business Center, so they had been great in guiding me on the steps to set up my business, and I know I could apply for a loan with the SBA, that they work with, but since I didn’t need a huge capital , I decided to get a business credit card and use my savings, which I don’t is the smartest thing to do , is easier to spend someone else money than yours , lol, but since I’m planning to add some more designs to my line , I think I will look into getting a very small SBA loan.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
This whole journey of starting this brand has been very educating, I had learned a lot , I had people that truly and genuinely give me advice and support me, I was so scared ,( still are) . You get those thoughts when you starting a new business , what is I fail? What’s if no one buy my stuff? I’m using my money what I’m going to do if this doesn’t work? So many thoughts that made me want to just stop everything and go back to having my little very small safety savings in my bank and just doing the things I was doing, but I have a curious mind , I always wanted to more , I always been a fighter; I said to myself, even if I crash and burned will all of this at least in a few years from now, I will no wonder “what if” and that’s priceless to me.
I listened to Sadguru everyday which I brought me a lot of clarity and calmness to my mind and I believe God is guiding me thru this journey.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the willingness to act despite it”
-Sadguru-
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bpyogawear.com
- Instagram: @bpyogawear
- Facebook: Black Pearl Yoga Wear
