We recently connected with Saidah Pearsall and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Saidah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I was inspired to start Shea BODYWORKS, a plant-based skin care company for dry and sensitive skin, after seeing my daughter, a passionate gymnast, struggle with severely dry, dull and rough skin due to the constant chalking she did during her daily gymnastic practices. We had tried numerous products to help with her skin, but nothing seemed to work. I remembered my mom using natural oils and butters on my skin when I was burned as a child, so I went back to my roots and created a moisturizing product for her using all natural ingredients. I gave the product to my daughter to try and she fell in love with the moisturizer and said, “Mom, you should be selling this!” Taking her advice, I launched Shea BODYWORKS. After seeing the product work wonders on her skin, I realized that I had a great product that others could benefit from too

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

I’m Saidah Pearsall – Founder of Shea BODYWORKS, an all natural skin care company that manufactures and distributes handcrafted skin care products for dry to extremely dry and sensitive skin. Since launching in 2016, Shea BODYWORKS moisturizers have been featured in newspapers, online beauty publications, and from beauty bloggers. We take product ingredients seriously and all of our products are free of glycerin, petroleum, perfumes, dyes, and mineral oil. Shea BODYWORKS isn’t just in the business of creating products, but product experiences for those with dry skin.Our products are available to purchase online, as well as in Whole Foods Market (Carmel, IN and Indianapolis, IN), and local businesses.

I’m incredibly passionate about entrepreneurship and have been fortunate to serve on the Advisory Board of SOURCE Entrepreneurship Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Also, mentor students at Butler University through the RBE program.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I’ve been selling Shea BODYWORKS products on Shopify for 4 years now and it’s been a great experience. The platform is user-friendly and makes it easy to get started. I was to customize my store to make it look unique with additon of the Shopify add-ons which helped me to better market my business on their platform. Also, the payment and shipping options are incredibly flexible.

The pros of selling on Shopify are numerous. It’s a great platform for both new and experienced sellers, so it’s easy to get started and it’s also easy to scale up a business. Plus, the customer service is good and the fees are usually quite reasonable.

However, there are some cons to selling on Shopify, too. It’s not always the most cost-effective platform, and the fees can add up quickly if you’re not careful. Also, there may be times when customers may not be able to access your store, if Shopify is having issues.

Overall, Shopify has been a great platform for me. It’s allowed me to reach more customers and grow my business quickly and easily, and that’s something I’m really happy about.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first started using social media, I hired a social media marketing agency to help me market my company on IG and Facebook. Hiring the agency, helped give my company a personality on social media and was money well spent. With their assistance I was able to build my audience on social media by creating content that was interesting and relevant to my audience. I would post regularly, interact with my followers, and share helpful tips and advice. I also worked hard to build relationships with other influencers and brands that my followers would be interested in. My advice to those just starting to build their social media presence is to focus on quality content. Create something that will engage and inspire your audience, and be consistent with your posts. Additionally, don’t be afraid to reach out to other brands and influencers in your industry. Networking can help you build relationships and help you grow your audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sheabodyworks.com
• Instagram: @sheabodyworks
• Facebook: @sheabodyworks
• Twitter: @sheabodyworks
• Other: Tik Tok: @sheabodyworks

Image Credits
Ericka Gibson