Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kamika Marie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kamika , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.

My experience with family businesses started quite young. My father owned his own business, a fresh seafood market in North Carolina. At a very young age, my sisters and I were required to work there. Can you imagine? Most girls at that age were into dolls, hanging out at the mall, make-up…yet for us, after school we would have to go clean fish. Honestly at the age and growing up, I hated it. I used to cry to my mom asking, why do we have to go work with dad. But now I look back on it, and it influenced my ability to run my own businesses now. Working with my dad, who also employed my older cousins, taught me how to endure. Not just in business but in life. In life, you’re not always going to want to do something. But my father was dedicated to providing for the family, and thus he worked tirelessly to do so. He instilled in us the same character – to be there for your family. Working together creates a strong mindset to look after each other, because you’re in this together. While at the market, my dad used to take time to preach to us about studying business when we head off to college, because he pressed that it was always better to work for yourself. I pushed it off because I equated owning your own business to not having vacation time, or time with family. But in hindsight, working together was time with family. Now my sisters and I, all work for ourselves. And if we need help in one arena that the other is strong in, we help each other.

Kamika , 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?

Well, I started my entrepreneur journey back in 2012. I moved to Miami in 2010 after graduating college in NYC. I had a Master’s Degree in Public Relations and got hired to work fashion week in Miami, so me and my mom packed up my car and drove down to Miami from NC. I worked the fashion week gig, and then I just ended up staying. Moving there was a bit difficult. Socially, living in Miami was awesome. However, it was so difficult to get a job. My resume was great: In NY, I had worked at VIBE Magazine, Island Def Jam had projects working at the UN, and so on, but for some reason, I couldn’t land a job for anything, so I ended up working as a hostess at an Italian Restaurant/Lounge in Brickell. The money at first wasn’t the best. Our checks from them used to bounce all the time. I’d be at work literally crying because they couldn’t pay us. But I kind of just stuck it through. I moved from hostessing to waitressing, to bartending, to bar manager. Well, pretty much everyone else quit, and I stayed, so I had to do multiple jobs.

In 2011, we had like four deaths in the family altogether, my uncle in March, my grandmother and dad in April, and then my other uncle a few months after that. So I was out of work a bit from having to go home to NC to be with family. For about a year, it was a struggle. I would literally go out to clubs with promoters because before the club started, they would have dinner for the girls coming to the party, so at least I know I’d eat that night. One of my friends who was a promoter that I would go out with, she was from Brazil. She constantly told me that I need to open a boutique or do styling because many of the other girls used to ask her, “where did Mika get her clothes, etc.” Finally, after sending out what seemed like thousands of job applications a day, I felt like, well, maybe I should try and start my own boutique because I can’t seem to land anything else. Looking back at it, not being hired was a blessing because it forced me to dive into the fashion world more. (I did some fashion PR when I was going to school in NY.) So for months, I stayed in and just worked on starting my own brand.

Finally, in September, I launched my first fashion brand called Belle Muse. At the time, I only had a website up and began an IG page for it. Someone reached out to me and said my brand looks great and that if I wanted, I could pay them $25 and they would post a photo on their page advertising my brand. They had like 1 million followers. I remember that was about all the money I had left. I sent them the $25 and called my mom pretty much, saying that I’m going to have to pack up and move home because I had like no money left at all. Within about 10 minutes of the person posting, the first order came in. It was someone in Hawaii who ordered a white fringe bikini. I got so excited! Called my mom up and was like, “Ma! I got an order!” It was only for like $70, so even though I was excited, I still thought I was going to be heading back home because I didn’t have anything for next month’s rent or anything. Soon as I hung up the phone with my mom, my next order came in and it was like $800. Then I called my mom back and said, “Mom, I think I’m going to be okay.”

In late 2016, I knew I wanted my own Fashion Lifestyle brand/magazine. I desired the focus to be on women, to encourage women, lift up women, and featured all things femmes. So then I started Fashion des Femmes, a safe place where women can be celebrated, featured, and supported. Big brands and even influencers kept reaching to be featured, so the brand developed itself into a Digital Magazine that has been followed by so many influential women Sofia Vergara, Jacqueline Fernandez, Juliana Paes, and more. I also like to include a lot of travel inspiration. I started traveling intensely back in 2013 and it completely gave me a new outlook on how the world not only sees women, but values women and how a woman is one of God’s most precious gifts. I want my brands to be a safe, fashionable place where women can be loved, celebrated, and supported.

I also started trading about 1.5 years ago. It’s funny, because I didn’t really know what I was getting into regarding the FX industry, but it was something that I always was interested in.

My most recent project is a Non-profit organization with one of my dearest friends, Sarah Tomasello, in the Aeolian Islands, Lipari Sicily. She’s a powerhouse of a woman and the top expert in all of Sicily for the Aeolian Islands! We’re working on an organization that will benefit families who face challenges, particularly in the realm of childcare on the islands. Many families struggle to find accessible and affordable childcare facilities. We have high hopes to provide support and resources in order for children to receive quality care, nurturing and early education, alleviating the burden on parents who face challenges in securing affordable childcare options.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

It’s funny you ask because currently… I’m in a pivot. I’m doing this interview as I’m in the process of transiting to Italy. I’ve learned that in life you’ll have transition periods. And you’ll know when it’s time to transition because inside you’ll feel change. You’ll start to feel discontent in your location, in your job, or even life. It’ll be a subtle nudge that you are supposed to be somewhere else. Transitions are hard, but I thank God for them, because if you pivot well, it will always be increase in your life. This current pivot started with a strong sense of wanting to have a home somewhere else. But also in business, I saw a shift, which I knew was a great sign to start thinking of my next project. I think true entrepreneurs, pivoting is in our blood. It’s one thing to start a business, be successful, and stay in that business solely. Entrepreneurs…we always have new ideas, desires to go to a new level. Even in our sleep or quite time, ideas and projects will come to mind, or come to heart I should say. And you can’t ignore it, because the ideas will start to eat away at you until you birth it. Even if you’re physically in a place, your heart will always tell you where you’re supposed to be. That’s when you pivot.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Back in 2011, I was preparing to do a very important event for one of my PR clients, a prestigious luxury jewelry brand. At the same time, my father unexpectedly passed away. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life. The week of the event was also the week we had to bury my father. I remember being on the phone with the client, making sure everything was still going as planned in terms of VIP guests, venues, press, while minutes later having to walk in for the viewing of my dad during the wake and having a panic attack. But I had to remember everything my dad taught me in running a business. No matter how hard things get, you have to carry on. You have to put on a brave face and still get things done.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.belle-muse.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/fashiondesfemmes
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kamikamarie
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamika-marie-bb084516/
• Other: @belle_muse (Instagram) @fashiondesfemmes (Instagram)