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

Soliél, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am happier as a business owner because I own my time and schedule. Being a single parent, I desire to be with my son as often as possible outside of my business duties. The hustle and bustle of a traditional work week and schedule with a child was extremely stressful for me. I was also raised in a single-parent household so I understand that quality time is important and also that your time can be limited due to juggling so much.

It feels incredible to do what I call “purpose work”. Inspiring people via Sol Rise Essentials that they can get better after trauma has been so fulfilling and life changing. No other career path has made me happier! The feeling of hitting business goals and milestones is unmatched. In traditional roles, it felt like there was always competition to be acknowledged for your efforts. Now, I celebrate every win, and the only boss I have to worry about acknowledging it is me.

Soliél, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Soliél (so-lay) Lindsey and I am the Owner of Sol Rise Essentials® based in Richmond, VA, USA. We offer mental wellness and affirmation apparel, jewelry, and accessories for resilient humans on the grow! Our merch empowers you to thrive on your best days and the ones in between. I’ve been a business owner for close to 2 years and it’s been everything I imagined (and a lot that I hadn’t LOL).

We create merch for children and adults including, t-shirts, jewelry, hats, hoodies, stickers, pins and so much more! When I was going through rough times as a teenager and young adult, I wore engraved jewelry that kept me positive about my future. I wanted to create that same feeling for others so when I thought about the kind of business I wanted to launch, this came to mind! I want my customers to feel the same way that I did when times got rough or when I needed encouragement.

I am building a global community called The SolTribe! We may have gone through dark moments (trauma and adverse life experiences) but our souls (sols meaning Sun in Spanish) are rising again with community and resources on our healing and wellness journeys. We also have a mental wellness podcast (Sol Seat Conversations) where we share the resilience stories of brave voices from around the world to inspire listeners. I am also a public speaker; I share my personal story involving the School to Prison Pipeline System, my mental wellness journey, how I’ve overcome, and more.

I am most proud of the tenacity and grit it took to reach such a full-circle moment in my life. If you are a person who wants to be encouraged and look good while doing it, I invite you to join the rest of the SolTribe as we spread the message of hope and mental wellness together!

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

I remember the first time I was called resilient. It was 2015 and I was sitting in the office of a Naturopath. Before working with me, she asked questions about my past history and trauma. She said I was incredibly resilient. I’ve since learned that resilience is like a muscle for some. Some people naturally have it but some have to work to increase it.

Either I had a certain level of resilience already instilled in me, or that muscle had been worked a lot in my life. Either way, I’ve learned that resilience is what’s kept me alive and it’s what’s also allowed me to move past obstacles in my life and learn from them.

Business can be very risky so I plan to keep the same resilience throughout my professional life as well.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

My e-commerce store is based on Shopify. I actually found out about the platform via Clubhouse. I learned SO much from that app and met tons of professionals in the e-commerce space. I kept hearing about Shopify and how easy it was to use. So much so, that I created my own website. I had my store audited by SEO/web design professionals before my launch just to make sure everything was working properly and looked good. I have tried other website builders in the past and it has been the most user-friendly and on top of that, their customer service is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced!

After calling their helpline, they always send a recap email and even offer you suggestions/apps to help build your store and sales funnels! I simply love it and feel I made the best choice for where my business is currently. The cons I had before were related to email marketing personalization but I do see that slowly but surely they are improving and adding more feature. They have focus groups and are always conducting feedback surveys. They seem to be very savvy and yield to what makes sense for their customers.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SolRiseEssentials.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/solriseessentials
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/solriseessentials
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/sol-rise-essentials
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@solriseessentials5070
• Other: TikTok: https://linktr.ee/solriseessentials Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2JSASDk1W38db2HuNFOMyQ?go=1&sp_cid=21981c18cd4e141be01a3ce8adedaae3&utm_source=embed_player_m&utm_medium=desktop&nd=1 Sol Seat Conversations podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfLL-d0WbWp-76tVdmVeHQW_RP-ZGEgpo

Image Credits
Chanae McLaughlin Caroline Frye Photography Frankie James Photography Soliel Lindsey