We recently connected with Imani Bascom and have shared our conversation below.

Imani, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Growing up I always knew I wanted to own businesses, this is just one of the many ideas I thought of. In 2021 I opened my first online business, “Her Body Shoppe”. It was a beauty/personal care shop. I would order my ingredients and materials to make and sell whipped body butters, lip glosses, lip oils, and lip scrubs. It meant a lot to me at the time because I was in a shelter, but due to personal reasons I sort of let it die. I eventually got out of the shelter, and decided that I want to continue running my business but I was still struggling financially so I wasn’t sure how to go about getting back to HBS. Then when I found out my coworkers also had their online businesses going, I was proud of them but it also inspired me to get back into business and so I did. At the time there were a lot of videos on my TikTok for you page about dropshipping, so I took it as a sign and did some research. I eventually created an account on Shopify, got my free trial, and set up the online shop imported products from a few platforms available on Shopify. At first I didn’t know what I was going to name it, and I was worried about someone possibly trademarked anything I would’ve came up with. I read somewhere online that as a sole proprietor, legal name of your business would be your legal name so I named it IMANI. When it came time for opening and promoting my brand on social media, I was definitely nervous that my shop wouldn’t attract any attention and I’m the beginning, it didn’t. My goal for the shop is to make beauty products and accessories available and affordable to my community. I created sales and started advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to redirect viewers to my shop and then the orders started to come. What excites me most about it all is that shoppers like what I put in my store, I found people to cater to.

Imani, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Imani Bascom and I am 21 years old from Brooklyn, New York. I’ve always wanted to run a business and I like keeping up with the latest fashion/beauty trends, but at an affordable cost. With IMANI, my goal is to make just that available to everyone. My shop is a dropshipping business, I import products from my trusted vendors to my shop and the vendor handles the shipping for every order. I sell lashes, wigs, bundles, tape-in extensions, lip sticks, lip gloss, and other accessories. I am most proud of the fact that my shop is gaining attention from all over the country!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I funded and opened my first business in 2021 while I was in a shelter. I made everything I sold. It makes me feel resilient because the staff working there was always telling me during their time working there they haven’t seen anyone do what I did in my position.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I work full-time so I save up to cover my business costs. I’d put money towards my business just about every check.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085413523154
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/imanishoppe__?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085413523154
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCCBMawevi3UZbEm4xixWxsQ
• Other: https://linktr.ee/ManiB3

Image Credits
Dropship Beauty, DSM – AliExpress Dropshipping