We were lucky to catch up with Raven Barrett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Raven, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I came up with the name Cocoiv one night laying in bed talking to my God sister. From the beginning I knew that I wanted the name to represent Black women and to be something meaningful to me. The “coco” represents the different shades of brown that we represent. The “iv” represents the four generations of women in my family, my daughter more specifically as she was born in April.

Raven, 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?

My name is Raven aka your mamas favorite mama. I’m a storyteller, empath, and curator of spaces where Black women are the main characters.

In some many spaces, we are the last – if ever, to be seen, heard, or celebrated and I make it by duty to change that with the brands that I have created.

One brand that I elling of our narratives of brand that I have crea, Diary of a grown ass Black woman, focuses on writing as a form of therapy and provides Black women a space to just be, especially in a world that only sees us as strong and magical. The other brand that I have created, A sensitive Black girl, focuses on us being in tune with our emotions and knowing there’s nothing wrong with that. In our society, at times we deem being vulnerable, soft, and sensitive, as a weakness when in reality it’s a superpower.

Moral of the story: I love a Black woman from infinity to infinity.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Honestly it just took time and being authentically me, and also paying attention to what my audience liked. At times that meant I had to pivot, and at times still do, but it’s all a learning process. The piece of advice I would give anyone just building their online presence is to just stay consistent. It may not mean posting everyday but define what consistency means for you.

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

A story of my resilience, whew! Still being in businesses four years later with my account in the negative plenty of times but still taking the risk to not only continuing showing up but to start another business venture is an example of my resilience. I’m a very spirit led person and the way God has set me up, when I’m committed, I’m committed.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.Cocoiv.com
• Instagram: www.instagram/cocoivbrand
• Other: www.diaryofagabw.com