We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ranasha Chapman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ranasha , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The idea to start a business came from my daughter, Damiya. She asked if we could start a business but gave me a list of things we could not sell. I started researching business ideas and began selling clothes, and purses, and making whipped shea butter. The idea of whipped shea butter was my own after researching the uses and origin of Shea Butter.

After receiving reviews about how our products helped with dry skin, eczema, and rosacea, we decided to remove the fashions from our business and focus solely on skincare products. Since both my daughter and I had a hand in starting the business, we decided to name it Mommy and Miya Essentials. Our business provides essential products for healthy skincare from head to toe, which our customers love and rave about!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As a skilled Certified Pharmacy Technician with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work, I started my own business creating whipped shea butter products to alleviate the extreme eczema issues that my daughter and I were facing. Utilizing my background in Pharmacy and extensive research, I also created an eczema cream as an alternative to steroids.

What sets me apart from others is my unique background and personal experience with severe eczema. Our products are suitable for all skin types and can effectively treat eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis. Additionally, we offer a range of other products such as lip balms, soaps, and hair and beard butter that promote growth and treat seborrheic dermatitis.

I am most proud of the overwhelmingly positive responses we have received from our clients, who have found our products to be healing, nurturing, and providing long-lasting results.

You can purchase our products through our online store www.mmessentials.store or find us personally at events throughout the city.

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

My journey towards success is still ongoing, as I started my own business on December 9th, 2020. It has been a challenging yet adventurous journey. This year, 2023, has been particularly trying as I have not had a job and have had to rely solely on my business earnings. I have fought eviction for 10 months, and lost my car due to a rear-end accident. Due to a low income, all of my bills and credit cards were behind and maxed out. Despite all these challenges, I have continued to run my business, show up at events, and fulfill both online and offline orders with a smile. Making my products provides me with a sense of peace, and knowing that my hands are healing and positively impacting the lives of others motivates me to keep going. I believe that when I eventually reach the top through hard work, I will appreciate it even more because I have lost it all and still continue to produce amazing products.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My resilience dates back to the very age of nine suffering from eczema, due to my dry skin my lips were always very dry, cracked, black, and blistered. I was teased and taunted about my lips and eczema for years and became insecure and depressed. As an adult, my eczema was an issue and I became my first client. From treating myself and my daughter I started whipping scented butter for friends and family and now our products are shipped all over the United States! We’ve also shipped products overseas to clients. From my resilience in dealing with shame and insecurities of my skin created a product that’s lasting, and provides lasting results!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mmessentials.store
• Instagram: mmessentials_
• Facebook: mmessentialsofficial / Ranasha Chapman
• Linkedin: Ranasha Chapman
• Other: Mommy and Miya Essentials on tik tok