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

Lakeisha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

I would have to say that my mother is my hero! She has helped me become the woman that I am today. Since I was a little girl I’ve always had a entrepreneur mindset. I would always find any type of job that I could do from babysitting to collecting cans I have done it all. I remember going every Saturday with my mother to recycle cans and that was my first real job as a young kid was assisting her every weekend. She would pay me for helping her to recycle pop cans. And from that point on I always wanted to be a entrepreneur and make my own money and be able to make a difference in the world. I credit her as being the person who has helped me to become who I am today and I will thank her for many many years to come. Although she has passed in the recent year my mother forever lives on inside of me. I will always appreciate her and how hard she worked in life!

Lakeisha, 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?

Hello, my name is LaKeisha Elem. I am the owner and the creator of body butter’s Creations handmade skin care. I got started doing body butter creams when I was working in a nursing facility doing CNA work. After continuously doing lots of hand washing I noticed that the products there was lacking something it just kept drying my hands out not only mines but my coworkers as well. I also was a big fan of Bath and Body works and I suddenly noticed that the products no longer served me. I wanted to create something that was all natural that would help with moisturizing and soothing the skin. So with continuous work I decided to look online to find a product that would fit what it is that I was trying to create! I initially wanted to make something that had to do with fitness LOL but after that take didn’t go well. I decided to try a body moisturizer that would help combat dry skin. I have worked so long on my body butter cream to get it to the way it is now. The thing that sets me apart from others with skincare is that I make my body butters very thick and it’s non-greasy. My butter provides very good moisturizing properties to the body. It is created with four simple ingredients so it’s free of toxic ingredients, parabens and any other harmful ingredients. My brand is creating food for the skin because everything that you put on your skin is absorbed through your bloodstream. At Body Butter’s Creations we want to make sure that you have the best natural and pure ingredients used for your skin. I am most proud when people try my products for the first time they say how much they love it and how much it has helped their skin. That was my mission to begin with is to help people love their skin. I feel like I have been accomplishing those goals with my full line of bath, body, face, and lip section.

I vendor on the weekends at the Arizona’s Farmers market I do both downtown Chandler and the High Street Phoenix farmers markets on Sundays. That has been my best source of outreach thus far as getting products out to customers. I would love to eventually get more customers and outreach online but I’m able to get up close and personal and let my potential customers try the products first hand.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I feel like not only have I had to pivot during certain circumstances. But there are so many others like me who own small businesses that when covid hit it really took a toll on small business owners. I was no longer able to do the farmers market for my business that was my main way of getting to my audience. It took some time but I had to revamp my business eventually to make a more inviting and appealing Booth to my customers. I did not let the shutdown stop me from creating and having new business ideas I just figured as soon as we were able to get back on the ball that I would work as hard as I could to bring my audience to what it is I was trying to offer. I also had a very traumatic experience in 2021 which made me stop vendoring for quite some time. I wasn’t for sure if I actually wanted to continue with my business after losing my mother to covid. I had to eventually do lots of praying and dig very very deep within myself to keep following my passion because I know that she would not want me to give up on what it is that I came to Arizona to conquer. It was so hard at some point because I did not have the ability to create anything because I felt so empty inside. I had to continue to push through pain and even without it being a full entire year I have been going out and fulfilling my purpose to offer some of the most wonderful skincare products to clients. I won’t say that every day has been easy because it has not been easy at all but I pour a lot of love into the products that I make so that I can create wonderful products for people to love because I am creating it with love.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I wonder on the weekends at the Arizona’s Farmers market I do both downtown Chandler. And and the high Street Phoenix farmers markets on Sundays. That has been my best source of outreach thus far as getting products out to customers. I would have loved to eventually get more customers and outreach online but I’m able to get up close and personal and let my potential customers try the products first hand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BodyButtersCreations.com/shop
• Instagram: BodyButtersCreations
• Facebook: Bodybutterscreations
• Linkedin: Bodybutterscreations
• Youtube: Bodybutterscreations
• Other: Email: [email protected] Amazon Handmade: Body Butters Creations

Image Credits
Jaymillius Fleming