We were lucky to catch up with Khadija Dooley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Khadija, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I started my business in 2020 right when the pandemic hit! I was working at complete family care as a nurse and living in a two bedroom apartment with my family of 6 at the time! I believe if I would of started a little sooner I would not have ran into as many obstacles as I did especially with quarantine and social isolation! My experience would have been totally different especially with customer service! Doing events we had to be spread so far about, wear mask, and limited to crown numbers. I would’ve love to experience running a business before the pandemic but I believe I started just when I needed to start.

Khadija, 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?

I’m from Pine bluff Arkansas, married and a mother of 6. Growing up I always knew I wanted to own my own business I wanted to have a restaurant, become a fashion designer and have a nail shop! I love arts and crafts, being creative. So when my daughter asked for a spa party during the pandemic I got real creative and made all the products for the party. This lead on to me making body scrubs for my coworkers for mother’s day. They all loved them and one suggested that I start to sell them! I’m was shocked and was like your really think that people would buy it. So from there I started doing research after research and expanded my products to body scrubs, body butters, lip balm, lip scrubs and lip gloss. I strive to use all natural ingredients in all of my products. After more research I’ve expanded in the past year to making soaps, candles, bath salts and herbal tub tea. My products are perfect for the entire family! I focus on individuals with sensitive skin because all of my children battle with eczema and love to use what I make so I have to make sure that it is safe for them to use.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started my business with no help used all of my savings. The first year was rough did not manage my money well and I had to adjust my hours and go back to work full time.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy I believe is doing as many pop ups as I can and setting up at the local farmers market

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kndmagic
• Facebook: KND MAGIC LLC
• Yelp: KND MAGIC