We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Monique Harris. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Monique below.

Alright, Monique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Journey waist beads was born out of my pain. I knew nothing of this craft, nothing about beads, strings, beading patterns, or anything. 2018 going into 2019 was one of the roughest times in my life personally which lead me to go inward spiritually.

My journey started with me setting out on a mission to create my daughters a bracelet, to a friend asking me could I make waist beads, to a full on business. The name actually came to me from my grandmother in a dream. It was kind of surreal considering that my oldest daughter is named Jurnee (pronounced Journey). I know why she gave me the name for my business though, I believe it’s because traveling though life’s difficult situations is a journey and how we respond to those situations determine our destination. Had I made another choice and just bought my daughters a bracelet my business may have never been born. Now I have the honor of guiding and assisting other women on their waist bead journey to self-love, self-acceptance, and body positivity which is a journey in and of itself.

Monique , 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?

I’m originally from the Midwest. Born in Chicago, raised in NW Indiana and relocated to GA over a year ago.

Starting my own business was never in my foresight. It’s really something that chose me. Actually, I’ve never even considered myself the artsy or hobby type, especially not making body adornments. My business came about when I was experiencing a rough patch in my life which sent me on a spiritual journey of discovery.

During that time, I had picked up so many hobbies and things to keep me busy. One day my daughter asked me about a beaded gemstone bracelet I bought from someone. She said ma, you think you make that? I really want one too! I looked at it and said I think so. I went out the next day to the hobby store to buy the stuff to make my baby a bracelet.

I ended up making both of my daughters a gemstone bracelet and they loved them. I posted them on FB and it received so much love from everyone. One of my good friends made a comment and said you know you could sell these? I brushed it off, then she asked me could I make waist beads. Prior to that, I had never heard of waist beads. I dove in head first, reading everything I could about them. That was over three years ago and I haven’t looked back.

At that time I was working a part-time job as a tables games dealer. Crafting waistbeads and bracelets had become my side gig. All while being a wife and mother to three children at that time. It’s safe to say things got pretty overwhelming. I felt like my job was draining my life and making waist beads was so much more fulfilling. I really developed a passion for waistbeads and I loved the way they transformed my life and that of other women.

In the summer of 2019, with the support of my husband, I chose my passion full time and have been working in it ever since. In the summer of 2021, we relocated our family to Georgia in hopes of expanding my business. Such a bold move but it has proven to be a good move.

I hit the ground running participating in vendor events and festivals to help get my name out there. Social media, referrals, and word of mouth has really been the driving force of my continued success. I created a journal/affirmation book that can be used as tool to aid you on your waistbead journey. I opened up my very own shop in March of this year. It’s a space where women can come shop and get their waistbeads tied on in private. A safe space to be themselves and also learn valuable information about waistbeads and their many uses.

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

Resilience seems to be the name of the game being an entrepreneur. I quit my regular 9-5 in August of 2019. 6 months later the whole world was in a state of emergency with the covid. There are some aspects of my business where it’s needed for me to be face to face with my clients and that came to a screeching halt.

I had to now focus on building a relationship with my clients virtually via social media which is a whole other ball game. Social media is a powerful tool but you have to know how to use it and that’s where I fell short but I didn’t give up on it. I consistently pushed out content and grew a nice following that kept me afloat during such a hard time.

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

During the pandemic I had to pivot my business to operate more online. I couldn’t physically see my clients anymore so I had to create short videos demonstrating how to properly wear the products. I would post my videos across all the platforms FB, IG, TikTok, and YouTube. I ended up having multiple things go viral.

Like I stated above social media was a great tool for me. It helped me get the exposure I needed and it also helped me connect with individuals I wouldn’t normally have had access to. I also had to add other things in my shop that would generate sells.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.journeywaistbeads.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeyswaistbeads
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/journeywaistbeads
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@journeywaistbeads

Image Credits
Felicia T. Simpson